My Journey with Farrah - Alana Stewart [29]
When Farrah and I arrived at the clinic, our driver pointed out that two paparazzi had followed us and were taking pictures from their car. I ran to film them and they took off. Now they knew we were here, so we’d have to keep a constant watch for them every time we went out.
Sean, his girlfriend Caleigh, and his friend Elijah, Cher’s son, are also here, as well as George and Barbara and our friend Lili Zanuck. It’s like one big party.
The day after we arrived, Farrah and I had to go to Frankfurt so she could have one more laser surgery with Dr. Vogl. “I feel like a dog being taken to the vet,” she said en route to the surgery. “A dog always starts to shake when it nears the destination because it remembers the last visit.” And yet she pushes through the fear and the trepidation because she wants to live. Such courage.
This surgery was not as difficult as the last one, although the procedure was just as painful. We spent the night in the hospital, and the next morning I accompanied her as they wheeled her to the MRI. Afterward we went into Dr. Vogl’s office, Farrah still in her hospital gown and in considerable pain. “Dr. In and Out” sat with us for an unusually long time.
“The last laser surgery in December was really dangerous,” he said. “It was difficult to decide what to do. You could have died from it.” We sat there in stunned silence.
Then he went on to say that he was able to get the rest of the tumors today and that the remaining ones were already necrotic (meaning they’re dying or dead). “So you are now tumor free,” he said matter-of-factly.
I wanted to be perfectly clear: “You mean she doesn’t have any more tumors?” I asked incredulously.
“She has no more active tumors.” Then he quickly added, “In the liver.”
Farrah and I hugged each other in celebration; this was the greatest news we’d had in a long time. We supposed afterward that he only wanted to go on record in the area he was certain about. But nevertheless, we were over the moon.
When we arrived back at the clinic, Dr. Jacob met us and explained that, while Farrah has no active tumors in her body, she still has cancer cells in her blood, and that’s where the other treatments come in: the special antibodies and anticancer drugs, even some plant derivatives that are known to kill cancer cells. The war is far from over, but a major battle has just been won.
We all celebrated Farrah’s birthday at Mimmo’s restaurant at a little birthday party I organized for her. It was a true celebration, and she was elated. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had,” she announced, “because I’m alive.” It was an incredibly meaningful and special evening.
It sounds crazy that someone would be thankful for being sick—but that’s what Farrah said to Dr. Jacob earlier today. “I’m grateful that I got cancer…because now I see that I can make a difference.” I wasn’t surprised that she said this. She’s been so moved by how many people have reached out to her, not just with get-well wishes, but with questions, requests for information, and gratitude. For the last year and a half that this has been going on, I’ve never seen Farrah once question the fact that this was happening to her or feel sorry for herself. She just accepts this for what it is and pushes forward; she deals with whatever is on her plate very methodically and doesn’t waste time wallowing in self-pity. But this brutal disease has to have happened for a reason. There had to be some purpose God had in mind for Farrah Fawcett. She’s been thinking about that a lot these days, especially now that her cancer is technically “in remission.” She has a new lease on life, and she’s realizing how much she could help others who are also battling a life-threatening illness. She could open people’s eyes to other forms of cancer treatments that aren’t yet available in the United States. She could start a foundation for research and use it to help people who can’t afford to try other methods. She’s even started to think that what we’ve been filming all these months could be an impactful documentary. The possibilities